New book - God's Promises for Your Every Need

For Christmas my husband gave me a new devotional book. It is really wonderful. 

I was reading tonight how Jesus is our sufficiency. Here are a few bible verses. 

And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:24

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. II Corinthians 3:5

I just thought that this was a wonderful reminder at this time when we should be focused on Jesus (the reason for the season). Yet, often times, it seems we are more focused on the material aspect of giving and getting. We get upset when we don't get all that we want at Christmas and yet God does supply all the we need - not necessarily all we want but all that we need. An important reminder. May God bless you and may you enjoy this holiday season to its fullest by staying focused on Jesus. 

Tired Boy or should we call this 'Don't make me eat my bananas'

This has got to be one of the funniest pictures. I was insisting that JJ eat all his good, healthy food. He wanted no part of all the fresh fruit. He is rather picky. He got all worked up, cried and just wore himself out. Eventually, he fell asleep right at the table. Just too cute not to snap a picture or two. 

Never did eat all his bananas!!! By the time he woke up they were too brown to be considered food.

Christmas memories

Christmas was wonderful this year. It was so nice to see all the relatives and to enjoy time with family. Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve.

Cookie delivery

Every year, we bake enough cookies to share some with our neighbors. It is one way we share our love for our wonderful neighbors. One of our dear sweet neighbors is an elderly man. He lost his wife many, many years ago. He does not bake and even much of his cooking seems to be TV dinners. My husband and youngest son went delivering cookies in the afternoon. About 45 minutes later the neighbor called to ask if we were going to the grocery store and could we pick up some items for him. In the course of the conversation, he thanked me for the cookies and laughingly confessed he had eaten most of them. I actually didn't believe that he had quite eaten the whole plateful until my husband dropped off the groceries. He came back laughing. Yes the plate only had 3 or 4 cookies left. Wow. Obviously he thought they were good but that had to have given him a gut ache. I did send the youngest over with more cookies the next day. 

That is one of the reasons we always bake cookies -- to share them. I remember when my grandmother was elderly. She couldn't cook for herself anymore. Plus, she always used to say she didn't like to make a whole batch of cookies. It was too much for one person to eat and who wants a whole batch of one variety. It is much better to have a smaller quantity and have a variety of cookies. 

Some of these neighbors were the dear sweet people that helped out my grandfather when he was older. Now that we live here I feel blessed and privileged to be able to give back to these people who were so caring to my grandfather.  

Book Review - A Christmas Passage

A Christmas Passage by David Saperstein and George Samerjan

This was a fun, light hearted Christmas story with a very nice message. The story is about a group of passengers that get stranded due to bad weather. A good samaritan comes to the rescue to take them in her van to their destination. They end up just missing an avalanche and in the process become stranded on a mountain. This ends up being an adventure of discovery for each person in the van. They confront their fears and worries. And in the end they receive a wonderful gift that all of them will remember for the rest of their lives. 

It is really a nice story. Easy read and good message. 

Domes - Christmas pictures

After the Titanic exhibit we stopped in at the Domes. They just renovated but I don't think the renovations were all that great. The roof was leaking quite extensively. And the special events Dome didn't look all that different. They had a new check in booth and had changed the lobby. Still, not sure it was worth the money that was spent.

They did have their Christmas display set up. It was nice but all the kids said they liked last year's display better. Still it was a great place to get pictures of all three kids together. The color and backgrounds are wonderful. It was really hard to get all three kids to have a nice expression on their face at the same time. The youngest kept forcing his smile to the point where it looked painful - like he was extremely constipated.

Here are a few of the shots we got:

JJ - the youngest

Our middle child

the oldest

brotherly love

The boys wanted to wear their hockey jerseys. The two oldest boys play for one club and the youngest is at another club - that explains the difference in jersey colors. All three are very proud of their teams this year and love the sport.

Titanic

On Monday, December 1st we had a field trip to the museum to see the Titanic exhibit. Hubby was able to come as he took the morning off work. It was really a great exhibit and thankfully we got in for school group rates. The normal prices are really very, very expensive. Normal adult price is $21 and we got in for $4.00. This was a field trip that I had coordinated. There were some hiccups in the setting up of this field trip but in the end it all worked out great which I am thankful for.

The kids liked the replica iceberg. They tried to make hand prints on it. They also had replicas of the rooms. That was neat to see and I was impressed with the amount of room for the first class passengers.

The thing they liked the best though and learned the most from was the passports. Each person was given a passport that explained who they were, their family relationships, who was traveling aboard the Titanic with them, etc. Then at the end of the exhibit there was a list of names and we could look up to see if the person survived or not. It was really a great learning tool. Fascinating.

Ideas for that leftover turkey

I love this soup. It is one of our favorites and it is just a yummy way to use up leftover turkey. 

Wild Rice Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced celery

1 cup coarsely shredded carrot

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoons pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice

2 1/4 cups Vegetable stock

1 cup milk

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup chopped up cooked turkey

Heat olive oil in a 3 quart saucepan over medium high heat. 

Cook celery, carrot, onion and bell pepper in olive oil, stirring frequently, until onion is tender. 

Stir in flour and pepper. 

Stir in wild rice and Vegetable stock. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Stir in milk, parsley and turkey. Heat just until hot. (Do not boil)

Makes about 5 servings.  

Excellent book - The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck

I highly recommend this book. It is very well written. Very heart warming and a great message. Glenn incorporates parts from his own life and story into the book. I just loved this book. 

Some great quotes from the book:

"All journeys, for good or evil begin with one small step." p. 244

"Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing that you're worthy of the trip." p. 247

"Your mistakes aren't mistakes anymore, they're just things that make you stronger. Atonement is the great redeeming and equalizing force that leads to the fulfillment of all things: every hug you've ever longed for, every Ferris wheel, baseball game, and walk in the snow you've missed. Everyone you've loved and lost. Atonement is heaven on earth." p. 251

The story has some great twists and turns that keep your interest. While it is a Christmas story it is also a story for all time. 

Book Review

The  Gift for all People

by Max Lucado

While this book didn't say anything I didn't know, it did say it in a nice way. He is very thought provoking. 

A few quotes from the book. 

"But God showed his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8

Jesus, do you give no thought to saving yourself? What keeps you there? What holds you to the cross? Nails don't hold Gods to trees. What makes you stay?"

p52-53

It was God's love for us and His grace that made Him stay. He wanted to stay out of love for us. Isn't that just very profound to think about!!! And that is the difference between us and Him. If any of us were in that much pain, and had the power to end it - we would. The pain would win out. Yet, Jesus stayed freely. That is amazing love. 

He also talks about the fog of pain. 

"..Time spent in the fog of pain could be God's greatest gift. If could be the hour we finally see our Maker. If it is true that in suffering God is most like man, maybe in our suffering we can see God like never before." p. 59

What a hoot!!

My oldest son loves to make bread. He loves to try different recipes. 

He will even improvise with recipes - and they always turn out great. I am just so impressed that my 12 year old son can make home-aide bread. 

Tonight he made a whole wheat 10 grain bread. It was fabulous. We had that with the soup I made. It was a very good meal. 

He asked me to go to the store tonight to get him some more bread flour. He doesn't add gluten to the breads and the recipe says if you don't add gluten then substitute 1/4 of the amount of wheat flour with white flour. We don't use white flour so we use bread flour - it is lighter but still made with whole wheat. 

I just think it is a hoot to have my 12 year old son asking for me to buy bread flour for him so he can make more home-aide bread tomorrow. 

Date night

We actually had a date night. 

It was wonderful. My hubby got free tickets to a night out at the art museum. They had drinks, food, music, etc. The gallery was open - the exhibit was called React/Interactive art. It was very expressive and somewhat odd at times. 

Interesting though - the people that attend art shows are just - well - I guess the older I get - the younger and odder they get. Makes me understand that there is a generation gap and I am part of it. Some of the stuff we saw. Wow. 

We were walking around and I saw several people with wristbands. I asked dh about it and he laughed - he said that was for those that got carded. They say the person is old enough to drink. Well, we didn't get one?!  Dh laughed and said we are so old no one needed to card us. Great!!! 

We have now entered the 'no need to card' group. Whoooo hooo. Isn't that a great mile marker to hit. 

Think I need another glass of wine. 

Just so you know

We have made a family decision to NOT send out Christmas cards this year. Many reasons went into the decision but first and foremost is that in light of the economy we feel we need to watch our pennies. Believe it or not, doing Christmas cards is very expensive. We do pictures of the kids and those cost quite a bit to get printed. Then there is the cost of mailing. We felt that it was better to give the money to a needy family then to spend the money sending cards. There are several families we know personally that our hearts just go out to and we know how badly they are struggling. We feel we would be better stewards of the resources God has blessed us with if we did something to help them out and not send out cards. 

So if you don't get a card from us - please do not be offended. You are not the only one. We are not doing this to slight anyone. We are concerned that several family members will view this in a negative light and think we are just not sending cards to them. Nope - not the case. We are not sending them at all this year. Maybe next year but by next year - well, it is not predicted to be better but worse. The signs we are experiencing now are actually worse then at the time the Great Depression happened. We just feel we need to be frugal and careful in these times. Cards are not a priority for us at this time. 

And the child was thinking WHAT??

.......... when he wiped the toothpaste all over the edge of the tub????

Just WHAT exactly was rumbling around in the peanut size brain when he thought 'now here's a good spot to wipe the excess'. 

I mean really --- if I had excess something on my hands I would think - hmmmmm toilet paper. I will wipe the goop off on toilet paper and then throw it out. 

OR if I was feeling rather somewhat gross I might wipe it off on a TOWEL - of course being the MOM I would throw the towel down to be washed. The child of course would think this was still a usable towel and would leave it hanging on the towel rack. A slight difference of standard on defining 'dirty towel'. 

But child in question instead looked around the bathroom and finding NO OTHER APPROPRIATE place to wipe excess toothpaste --- thought to himself - hmmmm - side of tub. NOW THAT's the place for me. 

This way when mom gets in to take a bath later tonight she can put her hand in the wonderful goop ---- and have the fun of discovery - what is it - why is it on my hand? Where is it coming from? How MUCH is there? 

Really these are so much fun especially when sitting in a tub. I mean what else do I have to do?? Was I thinking to relax - no seriously not - I wanted to have discovery fun?! Who doesn't want that to happen in the tub. 

Still Daddy's girl

What a fabulous evening I had Monday night!!!!

And after the awful day the kids and I had - I needed a nice evening. 

The kids had hockey skating practice so my husband wasn't available to go with me. (Although as it turns out they missed skating practice due to bad behavior during the day but that is another story.) I had a thank you dinner for being a group leader for our charity group at the stadium. The invitation was for me and a guest. I didn't want to go alone and so Dad escorted me. It was just so wonderfully nice to have him there. We had a fabulous dinner --- very, very good food. Each of us got a gift bag with a t-shirt, small towel and bobble head. Plus they raffled off some really nice prizes with the biggest prize being a 20 in. flat screen TV. Neither Dad or I won but it was just nice to be part of it and think we might win. And even though we didn't win, we still had our gift bag and a great meal. It was fun to be out with adults and not dealing with the kids. Thanks Dad for being my escort!!

Studying Davy Crockett

We just finished up studying Davy Crockett. In one book we read they had a recipe for Tennessee Grits. The kids made it last night. The family loved it. We served it as a side dish with ham, green beans and rolls. It was a big hit. 

Here is the recipe for Tennessee Grits. 

1 cup grits, regular or quick-cooking (I used two)

8 oz (1/2 pound) sharp cheddar cheese, grated

8 tablespoons butter

3 eggs beaten

1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare grits according to package directions. Stir in the cheese, butter, eggs and milk. Pour the mixture into a buttered baking dish. Bake 40 minutes, or until set. Serve hot with butter. Some people add a drizzle of syrup to top things off. 

The Paper Bag Christmas

by Kevin Alan Milne

It is that time of year where I like to start reading sentimental Christmas stories. I just love to stay up late - when the house is quiet and the kids have gone to bed - and the lights of the Christmas tree are on (of course it is too early in the season for Christmas lights yet but we are getting close). This book was really good. 

Here are a few quotes from the book. 

"Christmas began in the heart of God. It is complete only when it reaches the heart of man." p. 81

In one part of the book the children are re-enacting the Christmas story. One of the boys really wanted to be a wise man, so they allowed 4 wise men. He was born in India and is Hindu. He wanted to really understand the purpose of the wise men and wanted to understand Jesus. 

Here is a great paragraph from the book. It is the speech that the 4th wise man gives when he presents his gift to the Christ child.

"I was born in India and do not know much of your religion. I do not know if this child is the Savior. But from what I have read he is certainly a great prophet. He will be worshipped by many as the very Son of God. .... I have read from the Bible, of the things he will do and the things he will teach when he gets older. Surely this young child is destined for greatness and worthy of the world's greatest gifts. But I have no such gift to bring him. 

There was a collective gasp through the room as Madhu opened up an empty box. Then he began speaking again. One day, this child will tell those who follow him, 'If ye love me, keep my commandments.' And what will he command them? 'This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.' If this is truly the Son of God, then there is no worldly gift that he needs. He does not ask for gold, or wealth, or money. He asks only that we love others. And so, that will be my gift to him. I will try harder to love everyone, regardless of who they are or what they look like. ... And I will try to overlook the few things that make us different and focus instead on the many things that make us all the same. .... It is a small gift, I know, but it is the only thing I have to offer Christ." 

p. 124-125

Busy Hockey weekend

It was a busy weekend of hockey. All three boys play and it keeps us running. The boys just love it and it is very good phy ed. One of my sons had a game against his old team. It was nice to see many of the parents. I miss many of them but am so glad J is at his new club. The old club is heading toward being a rec. league and my kids really want competitive hockey. They are in a much better place. The new team beat the old team 7 to 0. I feel badly for them but am so glad we got two of our kids out of there. We just have the little one left there and he is already talking about wanting to switch to WC (the new club). I am sure it won't be long. 

Grace

A great story from  the book by Richard Paul Evans - p. 159. 

One Sunday a minister in a small, pious community decided to play hooky from church and go golfing instead. He was afraid of being caught, so he changed out of his Sunday clothes, put on sunglasses and a hat, and quietly slipped out the back door of the church. 

As he drove to the golf course, the voice of God spoke to him. God warned the minister that if he played golf on the Sabbath he'd be cursed. But the minister had made up his mind and went anyway. 

The minister got to his first hole and hit the ball. It sailed all the way to the green and bounced in for a hole-in-one.

"Incredible!" shouted the minister. 

He went to the next hole and hit another hole-in-one. 

"Fantastic!" cried the minister. 

The exact same thing happened on all eighteen holes. "A perfect game!" the minister shouted. As he carried his clubs back to his car he looked to heaven and said, "God, I thought you said you were going to curse me. Instead I shot the best game in history!" 

"Yes," replied God. "But who are you going to tell?" 

Grace

By Richard Paul Evans

This was the absolute best conversation in the book. Loved it. 

"We need school to learn socializing skills. 

What socializing skills has school taught you?

She had a point. The only social lesson I had learned at Granite (school) was that big dogs eat small dogs; a particularly disturbing lesson when you're a small dog."

p. 151

Grace

Grace by Richard Paul Evans

"They say that following the path of least resistance makes rivers, and men, crooked. I suppose that's why there's so many crooked rivers and men." p. 190

This really was an enjoyable book. I finished it is just about 2 or 3 days. Stayed up late one night as I got so caught up in the book. 

This story is actually about child abuse and how everyone looked away. No one would intervene to save Grace. Grace is the child that is abused but also it relates to the grace that we get as a free gift from God. And it is about forgiveness. 

"The truest grace is not to forgive, but to have never found fault." p. 302

art class - update

I wanted to post pictures of the final product that was produced in art class. We did find a way to mount it - my husband got some spray adhesive and mounted it on foam core board. Then we were able to hang that up on the wall. It looks really good. I have taken some pictures and hopefully they will show the 3-D depth to this project.

These two side views will hopefully show the 3-D depth of this project. They took poster board and cut it into strips. These were then mounted on to the back of the project so that it would be raised up. 

The concept of this project was that each person started out with a piece of tag board. (On my son's project he used light blue.) They were studying lines in this art class. So the art teacher talked them through drawing certain lines. They had to use lines to divide their paper in half both vertically and horizontally. Then they drew a set or two of parallel lines. They did some diagonal lines. Lastly they added some triangles inside of their parallel lines. The inside of the parallel lines was shaded with both black and white. 

Then, they took their wonderful creation and cut out some of the shapes by cutting on the lines. This was the hardest -- you should have seen the kids faces - you want me to cut my work apart. What??? Those pieces were then laid out in a collage fashion on another piece of tag board. On my son's piece he used red tag board. This was then cut out following the odd shape the design made. You can see the red border going around on my son's piece. 

This cut out shape was then mounted one more time on a final piece of tag board so that it was lifted up from the background creating a 3-D affect. He used red strips to lift the piece up - these were mounted on the back of the piece. And you can view the red from the sides. He used a slightly darker blue as his final background color. 

It is hard to describe in words but hopefully the pictures will help to make it clear. 

Good Movie

Generation Gap

This was kind of a neat old fashion movie with decent values on the Hallmark channel. 

This was one of the ending quotes from the movie. 

"Death leaves a heartache, 

no one can heal.

Love leaves a memory, 

no one can steal."

I do like the quote but think it missed the boat. Jesus can heal all wounds even death. For those that know Jesus, we can take comfort in the fact that we will see our loved ones again. They aren't gone for ever and death hasn't robbed us of them. We are but separated for a time until we are reunited again in heaven. And what a celebration that will be. Old friends, loved ones and most importantly - Jesus himself. For Jesus triumphed over death and He is the one that can heal. 

Still a good movie. Just had to add to that quote. Maybe it should say

Death leaves a heartache

that no one but Jesus can heal. 

Amen. 

Charlotte's Web

We went to see Charlotte's Web today. It was very well done but had an interesting twist to the play. The leading actress who played Charlotte was an Ojibwa Indian. She had a fabulous voice and was a very good actress. In the play they incorporated some Native American aspects and while it was very good, it is just not something that is in Charlotte's Web. They took a bit of creative license in adding this aspect to the play. It was well done, though. I did find myself questioning whether or not it was 'political correctness' at work - the remaking of a classic to fit the 'political correctness' of the day and making sure that certain nationalities feel part of the culture and are included. 

Still it was a good play. Great acting and the kids really enjoyed it. 

What I am reading

I have found another really good book and am enjoying it immensely. 

Title: God's Outrageous Claims 

Author: Lee Strobel

Lee Strobel used to be an atheist and having a Grandmother that was an atheist I can relate to where he was at when he was younger. The sad reality is that I will not see my Grandmother again as she never came to know Christ as her Lord and Savior. It saddens me greatly to know that and to think that there may be others in my family that are following in her foot steps. I pray that they are not and that they come to know Christ. 

Lee Strobel is fabulous. I just love his books. 

Quotes from the book:

"And I've found that when I think I can maneuver my way through ethical issues by the dim light of my own instincts, I inevitably take a fall. But when I let the wisdom, principles, and commands of Scripture shine into the situation, my options are much better illuminated." p. 67

"The trouble with the rat race.... is that even if you win, you're still a rat. But that doesn't have to be the case. God's outrageous claim is that you can survive the rat race without becoming a rat." p. 54

concerned

Our dearest JJ has his yearly doctor check up. He is now 5 and had to have a DPaT booster. He has had 4 of these already in his life. This is the first time though that he has had a reaction. It is still in the category of what the doctors call a 'mild' reaction. But it is worrisome. We are having him sleep in our bed tonight to make sure nothing happens overnight. He has a huge red welt and swelling at the injection site. It is about the size of a baseball and hot to the touch. He is not running a fever though. I gave him so motrin for the pain and swelling. Please pray for healing and that the reaction will not get worse.  

Great song

Quotes - Finding Noel

Finding Noel by Richard Paul Evans

I really enjoyed this book. There were some awesome quotes in the book and I thought I would share a few of them. 

"Man's extremities are God's opportunities." p.7

"Be kind to everyone - you don't know what cross they're bearing and how sweet that kind word might ring." p.7

"Nothing heals the soul like chocolate. I just love chocolate. It's God's apology for broccoli." p.16

"And then one day I had this epiphany. I realized that being a parent was like being the Wizard of Oz. .... You know the part when Dorothy and her friends go to see the Wizard? This big, ominous head talks to them and they're all terrified. Then her dog.... 

"Toto", I said. 

Right. Toto pulls back the curtain and there's a little man behind it pulling levers and throwing switches. And he says into his microphone, 'Ignore the man behind the curtain.' I think that being a parent is like being the man behind the curtain. We pretend that we know what we're doing -- that we're omnipotent and all-knowing --- when the truth is we're just back behind the curtain throwing levers and switches, doing the best we can." p. 208-209

"I once read that love is like a rose: we fixate on the blossom, but it's the thorny stem that keeps it alive and aloft. I think marriage is like that. Like my father said, the things of greatest value are the things we fight for. And in the end, if we do it right, we value the stem far more than the blossom." p. 302

Casserole version of a Pot Pie

This is a casserole version of a pot pie. It was very good. 

2 cans Progresso Rich & Hearty creamy chicken wild rice soup

2 cups cooked chicken

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup red bell pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

sliced cheddar cheese

8 Pillsbury Grands Frozen Butter tasting Biscuits

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray inside of casserole dish with cooking spray. 

2. Heat soup, chicken, corn, peas, bell pepper and thyme to boiling, stirring frequently. 

3. Pour into casserole dish. 

4. Top with cheese slices

5. Place biscuits over cheese and spray biscuits with cooking spray

6. Bake 40 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and soup bubbles around edges

7. Cool 5 minutes before serving. 

Red Lentil soup

This was really wonderful. It is always great to have warm soup when there is just a tad of a chill in the air. Jt made home-aide bread to go with - he is great at making bread and I am not. He made a honey wheat. It was very good. 

Here is the recipe:

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks of celery, chopped (I used more)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried basil

1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

2 cups of red lentils

4 cups of vegetable broth

4 cups of water

1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced

2 tbsp. vinegar

2 cups of ham - cut up. 

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery. Cook and stir until onion is tender. 

Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano and basil; cook for 2 minutes. 

Stir in lentils and add water, broth, tomatoes and ham. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, stir in spinach and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper if desire. 

Very busy day

I had a very busy day and the next couple should be just as busy. The Faith Ink 7th Grade Retreat is coming up on Saturday and I am responsible for making sure all things come together. We had a Pastor cancel today --- we play a game called Stump the Pastor. Well, from 1 to 3 in the afternoon we are now pastor-less. This is not a good thing. Pray that we find a fill in. 

I got up - made dinner (yes first thing in the morning). I made a lentil soup. Turned out really good. Jt then made home-aide bread to go with. He always does a great job with the bread making. I will try to post the recipe for the soup tomorrow. It was very good. 

I did school with the two younger ones. JJ is now learning to read. He is doing well so far. Some days he seems into it and other days he just wants to get it over so he can go play. 

Then I headed into work for a few hours. Came back in time to put the soup on to reheat, run to the bank to get some $ for gas. Gas is down to $3.19 a gallon - that is the lowest we have seen in a very long time. I filled the tank. Needed the gas to get up to the hockey rink. 

Came home to eat dinner. We actually all came together for dinner and it was nice to have a home-aide, warm meal. After dinner, T ran to work and I ran the kids to hockey. The two oldest played. JJ and I did his math and phonics --- for awhile -- then he just wanted to play. I needed time to read Oliver Twist so I can discuss it intelligently with Jt. Jt is really enjoying the story --- impressive. We ended up at the rink all night. Didn't get home until 10:15 p.m. - kids had to shower and finally got them all in bed. T got home and they all had to get up to tell Dad about their day. Finally got them all back in bed. And I am exhausted. I am heading to bed also. Nite, nite. 

Fun morning

We went to a school time musical at a local college. It was called La Musgana and they played the traditional music of Spain. It was performed on original instruments such as bagpipes, wooden flutes, zanfona (hurdy-gurdy). They also played more contemporary instruments like the accordion, guitar, violin and clarinet. It was beautiful music but even more important the musicians were just so entertaining. They really were great with a kid audience and made it so enjoyable and fun. 

During one of the songs, two of the musicians came down from the stage and picked females from the audience to dance with. We sat in the very front row and guess who got picked to dance. Yep you guessed it - ME!!! My kids were just shocked. Their reaction was just priceless. As soon as I got back to my seat, my youngest looked at me and stated "he danced with you." Then he had to come cuddle on my lap as if to say 'this is my mom - hands off.' 

Then they asked for questions. Much to our surprise our youngest raised his hand but being only 5 it was hard to hear his question. So they invited him on stage and up he went. He wanted to share that he could play drums on his legs and proceeded to tap out a rhythm. My oldest was mortified because being 12 everything is embarrassing to him. He just hasn't realized that no one in the audience was laughing at our 5 year old - they all were thrilled and clapped for him. 12 year olds!!! It was just a fun morning. 

Go Brewers

The Brewers are still alive but need to win two more games to continue on. 

And our rival (the Cubs) - in the 7th inning are losing. They will be done if they lose this game.

GO BREWERS!!!!

Art class

This was a very neat class. The older kids (picture below) are being taught how do do a relief. In the picture above Jt is working on his project. They had their art work and turned it over so they could add strips of poster board on to the back. They used tabs to get the poster board to remain standing up. Then, this was adhered to a larger poster board. It really turned out wonderfully as the art work just appeared to pop. It created dimension to their 2-D pieces so they appeared 3-D. Now we are just challenged to find a way to frame it so it can be hung up on the wall at home. It is really a wonderful work of art. 

More pictures from Civil War school days

This first picture was actually my kids favorite station. This station -- the guys who set off the cannons - the big guns!!! JJ wanted to see them fire - but they only demonstrated how to fire - no firing on school days. They do set them off for the re-enactment over the weekend. 

This next picture shows the weapons and military uniforms by various divisions / units in the Civil War. One of the uniforms was from the navy. 

This is one typical type of punishment during the Civil War. Doesn't look like much fun. Don't laugh though or you will be in the box (see post below). 

Wade House - Civil War School Days

On Friday, September 26th, we went to the Wade House for their Civil War School Days. It was very well run. We rotated with our group through various stations. Only disappointment was we weren't able to see every station as they had so many. There just wasn't time. This is certainly something that we could come back to again next year as hopefully we would get scheduled to see the other stations. 

In these two pictures you can get an idea of punishment in the Civil War era. A soldier would be put in the pine box and left on the green in the sun. Our version of this now days is the sweatbox at the spa except I think our now days version is very expensive. A mom from our group got 'volunteered' to be the example. He said she laughed way too loud when her son got picked to demonstrate one of the punishments. So it was her turn. 

This station showed the kids about camp life and the food that they ate. 

This station showed the kids about the laundress. She is one of the camp followers but an essential part -- well at least from my perspective. Clean clothes are something I would find essential but not something that happened as frequently in the Civil War era as in our time.

My JJ really loved cleaning the clothes. I doubt this would be as much fun if we HAD to do it this way all the time. Wow what alot of work!!! So thankful for my washing machine. 

Virtual Co-op another update

The virtual co-op is going really well from many standpoints. We have had one issue. We are using WizIQ and apparently co-ops that used them last year had no issues. They have just exploded with growth and it seems that they are unable to keep up. Many co-ops have mentioned having sound issues and issues staying connected. 

We have also had sound issues and during one session the teacher got locked out of the session. She couldn't say anything, no one could hear her and she had no control to turn over speaking abilities to others. We like the whiteboard concept and we love having the area where the kids (and moms) can type to each other. That has been very helpful in having the kids get to know each other better. We also like the hands raising feature. With WizIQ the teacher can take away all permission to speak and the kids have to raise their hands to be called on. This does prevent everyone from talking over each other. It also prevents having one very smart child doing all the talking and answering everything. The teacher can make sure to call on others. We have a few kids that are shy and need a bit of encouragement to speak. While we don't want to put them on the spot by singling them out, we do try to encourage them and then if they raise their hands we try to be sure they get called on. That is a fabulous feature that we don't want to lose. 

So we have decided to use TeamSpeak for our sound and WizIQ for the visual (whiteboard, hand raising, and typing features). The moms have done a trial run but our first co-op is this coming Monday. I will post information on how it went. I am just relieved that I am not the guinea pig mom that has to do the first co-op with the new technology. We started looking at options the week before and then I was teaching. So glad it took some time to decided. 

And during my teaching time we only had one issue - my own son got kicked off. He (thankfully) is technology savvy that he was able to get back on. That was very good as I was the teacher and unable to help him at that moment. He did well fixing it on his own. 

That also has been a great aspect of the co-op -- both my son and I are learning all sorts of new technology and that has been most fun. Challenging at times but also very fun. 

Another quote

In light of the upcoming election, I thought this quote was very interesting to ponder. 

A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user. 

Theodore Roosevelt

quote on politics

A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues. 

Theodore Roosevelt

Civil War reenactment - Wade House

What a fabulous day of fun learning. The kids and I went to the Wade House to participate in their School Days civil war reenactment. It was really so informative. JJ really loved the cannons and his only disappointment was that they didn't fire them. He wanted to 'see' and 'hear' them in action. We rotated through various stations. It was very well organized. Only negative was that at the end President Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address - which would have been great but we couldn't hear him. The sound system they had didn't work and therefore we didn't hear but a word here or there. The rest was great. 

We learned about cannons and the type of shot used. We learned about the uniforms of the navy during the Civil War. We got to see the calvary in action. The kids even got to touch the horses which were very well behaved. We saw the laundress. Plus we learned about the role of children during the Civil War. They had a traveling salesman that did a show to sell his wares. That was interesting but some of the kids didn't get that it was for show. They really wanted to buy the products. 

The bees were out in force. It was a beautiful warm sunny day. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather. But that brought out the bees. JJ did get stung. I watched him for a good 1/2 hour but he was fine. I am highly allergic so I worry that they might have inherited that from me. 

It was just a great day spent with friends. I originally signed up just our family and then mentioned it to a few others that are also teaching TOG year 3 this year. This really ties right in and they opted to join us. I think it made it all the more special to have friends to hang with all day.  I will try to post pictures later this weekend. 

National Railroad Museum field trip

JJ loved being able to climb in and around the various train cars.


We got to take a short ride on the train. JJ loved that.

Pictures from field trip to Heritage Hills

These pictures are from the younger kids group that went to Fort Howard.

Aren't we all glad that we no longer have to cook like this?!

The corn cakes still turned out yummy.

Wood was needed for the fire to cook the meal.

This picture is when the kids were in the school house. Slates were on the desks. 

The kids got a chance to practice marching as if they were in the military. Keeping a straight line isn't as easy as it looks. Master Sergeant was trying to keep order. 

This is an authentic sword from the the time period. It weighed 12 pounds and was surprisingly heavy. The sword belonged to Master Sergeant. He let the kids hold it to get a feel for what a real sword is like. 

 

JJ is getting a chance to help mix in the ingredients for the corn cakes. 

Art idea #2

3D Design Texture Tiles

Again, we saw a challenge given to the design students. It was neat to see what they came up with and this would make a great project for our kids at home. 

Problem:

Explore various ways to create relief textures utilizing three different media: paper, cardboard, and mixed media. All media used was white in order to see the effects of light on texture. 

Here are some pictures:

After viewing all these, one mom at our class had the idea that each child could create one tile. She had 3 kids and thought that the 3 tiles (one from each child) could then be mounted in a shadow box. It would make a great gift. 

Art idea

While at our art class this week, we noticed that the design students had their work on display. They were given a problem. 

Utilizing a single piece of 18x24 tag board each student had to manipulate the 2D material to create an interesting 3D form using all of the board and only a scissors or knife. No adhesives of any kind were allowed. 

Here is what they came up with. 

Isn't it amazing what the college students came up with. This would be a great project to try at home with our own kids. My kids were fascinated by how they got the items to stay together without any adhesive. 

A week in the life of a homeschool family

Our week started out with a field trip on Monday. Normally, Jt has his virtual co-op discussion on Mondays. We had to skip this one as we had this field trip booked before we signed up for the co-op. Dad even took the day off work to join us. We went to Heritage Hills first. The group separated into a younger group and older group. Dad went with the two older kids and saw the Fur Traders cabin. They learned about the relationship between the French, Indians, British and Americans. They held a mock trial based on the trial of Chief Oshkosh. 

The younger kids went to Fort Howard. The Fort is from 1836 era. They got to see what life was like on a fort in 1836. They had an opportunity to cook corn cakes, lay on a hospital bed, march on the green, go to school and try writing on slates, and take down the flag at the end of the day. 

After our time at Heritage Hills we went to the National Railroad Museum. We toured the museum and rode the train there. 

We even made it back in time for Jt to go skating. 

Tuesday we had ortho appointments and then piano lessons. JJ is now taking piano and he is thrilled to be old enough. He has such joy for the instrument and I hope that continues. Sometimes the amount of practicing needed to become proficient takes the joy out of the instrument. I also went in to work for 4 hours in the afternoon to evening. 

Wednesday - we got a lot of school work done in the morning. Then I left for work in the afternoon and the kids continued to work on their assignments such as math, grammar and phonics. I got home in time to feed them dinner and we ran Jt to off ice - dry land training. 

Thursday - I left for work early. Jt got up prior to my leaving and started his school work. This gave him 2 hours of quiet working time before the younger ones got up. Even when I am gone certain homework is required to be done. The two oldest take turns playing with JJ and doing their school work. In the evening we had Awanas for the younger two and Dad took Jt to skating practice. 

Friday we had art class in the morning. We had a new teacher and she is fabulous. She has a different style then our other teacher but I really like her. I think the kids will learn alot. She is more academic in approach. She is teaching the elements of design. These are:

line

shape

color

texture 

space

Our class this time was on lines and how lines can be used to create motion and dimension. I really like her approach and what she is teaching them. (I even learned some stuff - shhh, don't tell that moms still keep learning!!!)

In the evening Jt got to go to church for an outdoor movie. They watched Evan Almighty. Dad went along and chaperoned. We invited a friend of Jt (happens to be a girl but they are hockey buddies - so she truly is just a friend). We actually were hoping she would come back to confirmation classes. She dropped out (long story) and while she did come to the Jonah event, it is unlikely she will come back to church. We will keep trying. She is a delightful girl. 

Saturday we had a family bike trip. It was fabulous to be all together, having fun, out in the nice weather. It was a gorgeous day. We couldn't have asked for better weather. 

Only negative is that we think we have something dead in the house. It has a very bad smell that waifs through now and again. We have torn apart the living room and washed everything. Washed the couches, carpet, part of the walls. Didn't kill the smell. We have walked around sniffing everything to see if we can identify where the smell is coming from. No luck. Hubby has decided to wait until it gets stronger so we can more easily find it. I am praying it just goes away. Neither approach seems like a good one but we simply can't find the source. Yuk. Hubby claims we have a corps somewhere. I am so not liking that image. 

Pray for the smell to go away. 

great comic

Click to have a fun homeschool laugh

Fabulous Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

2 eggs beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1- 2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin, oil and water in a medium sized mixing bowl.
3. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and spices in a separate bowl.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir to blend.
5. Place batter 3/4 to top of non-stick or lightly oiled muffin tins. YOu may also use cupcake cups.
6. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from pan right away.

Casting Crowns - Slow fade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7jT34j0R7Q

Fabulous video. Take a moment to watch.

Friendship - recently discovered

Recently I have been in the uncomfortable situation to determine that this quote has some truth in it. And how sad is that. 

"Sometimes your closest friend is your greatest enemy."

- Jason Fong

Friendship

"Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company."

- George Washington (1732 - 1799) US Statesman.

Thrilled

I have to say I am absolutely thrilled with Sarah Palin. Wow - what an exciting candidate. I love the comment she made about the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull. The hockey mom wears lipstick. So true. 

She is just inspiring and really has breathed new life into McCain's campaign. Honestly, I can say that McCain was truly wise to pick her and picking her tells me alot about him. On the other hand, Obama who is running on a campaign of reform, picked the old, white establishment as his running mate. Where is the change in that??? Wake up America!!! McCain is the one that embodies change - when have we had a woman VP?! How exciting is that!!! Plus it shows something about Obama. He obviously missed the political lesson that the VP choice should do no harm. Biden is a serious mistake on the part of Obama but one I am glad he made. 

Virtual Co-op update

I am relieved that things went really well. One of the forms uploaded but the other one didn't. I was aware this might happen and did have a back up plan. I just hand drew the chart on to the white board. It seemed that at least two of the moms really liked the Jeopardy game that I played. It was a great way for the kids to recall what they learned but in a non-threatening way, fun way. All the kids got a chance to speak because we rotated through the names. They also got to work in a team so that none of the kids had to feel put on the spot. My son said it was the best. So at least I had his vote. I was nervous about teaching and had him pray with me prior to co-op. He thought it was silly and that I would do fine. Still, inviting God in is never wrong. And I am happy I remembered to pray first. Sometimes I get so focused on what I am doing and teaching I forget the most important thing - to thank God and to ask for Him to be present during all we say and do. I think it makes all the difference. 

Tired

I have been working so much lately at three different jobs and I am so tired. If I make it through this week, I will be very happy. Next week is much better and calmer. I am looking forward to an entire day at home -- nowhere to go sounds sooooo nice. 

On the positive side, the kids have been doing really well with this schedule. They have been getting their homework done while I am gone. That part has been going amazingly well. Jt has been working on improving his writing. That is our focus for this coming year. He has gotten much better with his attitude toward writing which I am grateful for that change. He simply has to learn to write better and kicking up a fuss won't get him out of it. 

So that is where we are at right now. Busy, busy, busy. And soon hockey starts and we will be really busy. I think I need a vacation. 

VBS

My kids went to VBS at the church where we attend AWANAs. What a fabulous place!! It is not our home church but we have always loved attending AWANAs there. They are so nice. My kids just loved VBS tonight and were so glad they went. They came home just bubbling over with what they had discussed. The topic was on God's Wondrous Creation and that "God turned alot of nothing into something cosmically cool." They had so much fun. I am incredibly thankful for the leaders and volunteers that are making this time so special for my kids. I appreciate that they are leading my kids to God in a way that is fun and exciting. I hope and pray my kids will always remember the special times they had at VBS and that they will continue the tradition by taking their own kids to VBS. 

This is their key verse for the day:

Before the mountains were born 

or you brought forth the earth and the world, 

from everlasting to everlasting you are God

Psalm 90:2

bible verse

Today has been a rather trying day. There are days like that. I was working on our yearbook from last school year. I include bible verses and in the process of looking for one for a page I was working on, I came across this verse. It really spoke to me and was a comfort. 

So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God. 

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

Isaiah 41:10

I hope this verse speaks to you, also. 

Book - The Dream Giver

I really got alot out of this book by Bruce Wilkinson. The story starts out as a parable about a man named Ordinary. Ordinary has a big dream and there are bullies that prevent him from reaching his big dream. Ordinary asks, "How do I get all my Bullies on my side?" Ordinary is told, "Well, you might not be able to. Wisdom is the key. Try to understand what's motivating them. Look for the merit of their concerns. Some Bullies you need to simply dismiss or avoid. But most Border Bullies have concerns that can help you clarify your plans. That's how a Dreamer turns opposition into opportunity. .... Remember, when Bullies try to block your way, what matters most is who you choose to please!" 

I have had 'border bullies' in my life and this really helped me to see them in a positive light vs. negative. They can help to clarify your plans. They can help you to figure out if your plans are good plans - plans that can stand up to criticism tend to be well laid plans that will work out. So the border bullies play a good role. I always just saw them as opposition and it was painful for me as often the border bullies were those close to me. I just wanted their love and support and not their opposition. I found it helpful to view them in this light. 

The most important aspect though is to determine who we are aiming to please. Is the aim to please the border bullies or is it to please God? And sometimes we need to disregard the border bullies in order to do what God wants. Ultimately, it is only God who we need to concern ourselves with and seek His approval in all we do. 

Excellent book and I highly recommend reading it.